


Apple Core

by Tashilover



Category: Borderlands (Video Games), Tales from the borderland
Genre: Non-descriptive Body Horror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-09
Updated: 2018-12-09
Packaged: 2019-09-14 16:15:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16916145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tashilover/pseuds/Tashilover
Summary: Rhys and Jack talk about the power of friendship and how it can be harmful to your health.





	Apple Core

**Author's Note:**

> I just wanted to write this as a way to explain why Rhys only has one arm and eye. If it is explained in the game, I probably missed it.

Rhy's arm was designed to be lightweight, fluid, and able to keep up with the reflexes of a human being. It had a flashlight built into his palm, he could bend it backwards at the elbow, and it had the capability to hold twenty more pounds than his regular, human arm. His mechanical arm was super fucking awesome.

That didn't mean it didn't have its faults.

Like any body part, it required maintaining and cleaning. But unlike other body parts, in order to clean it, Rhy had to detach the arm completely from his body. In the past few days riding around Pandora, dirt and grime found its way into his joints, and every time he moved his arm, he could hear the crunching of sand.

The biggest hurdle was finding a quiet, private place to do his work. In this small caravan containing five people, two robots, and a holographic ghost of a long dead celebrity, Rhys didn't have many options. Salvation came when they found a natural reservoir of fresh water, and decided to stop for a few hours to switch out their drinking supplies and bathe. While the others gathered their clothes to do a load of laundry, Rhys grabbed a set of tools and quietly snuck away.

He found a nice shady area. He took off his shirt and tie, folding them neatly and putting them aside. He laid his tools out in front of him, sat down and went to work.

"Whatcha doing?"

Rhys startled. "Holy Jesus-fucking-Christ!"

"Whoa, hey now," Jack said, taking a step back. "Why are you half-naked? Don't tell me I walked in on you masturbating."

"What? No! I'm just trying to clean my robot arm!"

"Now that sentence does sounds like you are masturbating."

"Dude! Gross."

Jack laughed. "Oh, you're too easy kid. But seriously, what are you doing?"

"Like I said," Rhys repeated. He stuck the screwdriver into the slot by his shoulder. "I need to clean my arm. There's dirt and grim in the joints. Basic maintenance."

"You know, I've been meaning to ask you about that. Why do you have a robot arm? Got in an accident or something?"

"No, nothing dramatic like that," Rhy said. He loosened the screws on his arm. With a hiss and a pop, he disconnected it from his shoulder. His arm hanged uselessly from a wire. "I was born without an arm."

"Uh, well that's boring," Jack said. He walked around Rhys, observing him. "I was hoping for an entertaining story. What about the tattoos? Where'd you get those?"

"College," said Rhys. "I wanted to impress a girl. She said she'd sleep with me if I got them."

"Atta boy. Did it work?"

Rhy smirked at him.

Jack threw his head back and laughed. "HA!"

With the robot arm draped across his lap, Rhys grabbed a cleaning took and started to sweep out the grime.

"For a Hyperion baby, you sure were underdeveloped," Jack said. "Were you born without an eye as well?"

"Oh... um... No. That... that I lost."

There was a long pause as Rhys continued to work.

"...Are you going to tell me or are we just going to sit here in awkward silence?" Said Jack.

"I thought you knew. Being in my head and all."

"It's more fun to ask."

Rhys pulled the joint of the elbow out. A small trickle of sand poured out. "I was fourteen," he began, angling his head to avoid looking at Jack. "Vaughn and I were just starting out. Learning tricks of the trade and whatnot. And here's the thing you gotta know about Vaughn: he's a goddamn genius when it comes to tech. Like, since he was a kid, if you give him any computer, he could hack it within seconds. He was that good. But we weren't popular back then. And when you're unpopular yet better than anyone else despite of it, you get unwanted attention."

Jack hummed. "So let me guess. You got hurt because of your weirdly buff-friend?"

"It wasn't his fault."

"But it was because of him."

"It's because people are assholes," Rhys snapped. "Vaughn had potential, y'know? He could've been someone great. And then..."

Rhys paused as the memories rose up in his head. He was fourteen years old, going through a growth spurt. Vaughn was only twelve, and compared to Rhys, was as small as a mouse. They became friends when Vaughn had come up to Rhys, pointed at his robot arm and excitedly exclaimed, "That's the coolest thing I have ever seen! Can I touch it?"

"We were walking home," Rhys continued. "And three douchebags from our school started harassing us. Calling us _fags_ and other dumb shit. They especially went after Vaughn. Accusing him of cheating, that no one as ugly as him could ever be that smart."

Rhys stopped in his cleaning. His left arm was shaking too much to continue.

"One of the assholes grabbed Vaughn," Rhys said. "I rushed in to help, and someone pushed me. I fell and..."

Rhys's face scrunched up as the memories washed over him. He didn't need to tell Jack what happened next. The images were so strong, Rhys might as well been showing them as a video feed.

There was a screw on the ground. A goddamn screw. When Rhys fell, he didn't feel a thing. It happened too fast. It wasn't until he lifted his head and looked up at the group of kids that he realized something bad had happened. The three assholes screamed and took off running. Vaughn fell back on his ass.

"Vaughn...?" Rhys said, dazed. He tried to crawl forward, but was unable to. "Vaughn, what's going on...?"

That's when he noticed the blood. His hands were covered in it. The ground beneath him was flooded with it, staining his elbows. He blinked, and only felt one eye respond. He reached up to touch the left side of his face.

"Don't-!" Vaughn cried out.

Rhys's fingers bumped against the screw. Without thinking, he pinched and _pulled_.

"Fuck," Jack wrenched away. He brought up a hand to touch his own holographic eye. "Goddamn, and I thought my injuries were bad. Holy fuck. I'm surprised you didn't die."

"I'm surprised too," admitted Rhys. "I was in the hospital for a week, and Vaughn... he didn't speak again for a year. He had to drop out of school, lost all his potential chances to move up in life..."

"Really, kid? You're the one who lost an eye by having a nail penetrate you like a dick-"

"Thanks for the mental image."

"-but you're more worried about your friend having a mental breakdown?"

"Of course," Rhys said. With that, he snapped his arm back into place into the ball of his shoulder. "He was the one who got me my ECHO eye. He petitioned my name, found the funds, and basically helped me learn how to use it. Without him, I would still be using a glass ball for an eye."

He slipped back on his shirt. "What about you? Got any interesting stories to tell?"

"My friend burned half my face off and tried to murder me."

"...Oh."

Jack crossed his arms. He stared out over the horizon. The sun was slowly setting, setting the sky ablaze. "Enjoy it while it lasts, Rhys. Your friends will betray you one day. Sooner or later something better will come along, something they won't be able to resist, and they'll sell you out."

"That's a very depressing thought."

"But it's the truth."

Rhys pushed himself up. He huffed in disgust. "You know, your experiences are not universal. Just because it happened to you doesn't mean it'll happen to me."

Jack touched the edges of his flesh mask.

"You keep telling yourself that," he said. His hologram flickered and then disappeared entirely.


End file.
